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Saturday, December 10, 2016

I just had a thought.. maybe everyone already knows this but it was a light bulb moment for me. Maybe minimalism is about living in the present!

Most (me) normally live either the past (old journals, lots of momentos of past events/ppl) or the future (those clothes that will fit some day, the book that you will get around to read some day, the jewelery never worn but you will.. some day).

Maybe minimalism is about embracing the now. I love xyz now and am using it now. We, as a family, play games a lot so we will keep the ones we use NOW.

This feels like a spiritual revolution to me. I want to be present NOW!! This realization is a total game-changer.

Monday, November 14, 2016

I just realized another favourite thing... or maybe it's just evolving again...

Just now I was writing out a grocery list and feeling grateful that I didn't feel rushed, but right after I looked up at a clock that needed a new battery so changed it and cleaned it as well. Again, feeling grateful for not feeling rushed.
I then decided that my nails needed trimmed, and while doing that thought of most times before now, I would leave it until before bed, also feeling kind of resentful that I delayed bedtime to squeeze it in. No more.

So that's it. My new fav thing is that I have time for the little things that would once have been annoying but now I can feel present while I accomplish these things. Present and grateful that I have the time to be mindful.

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

I have a pet peeve, many actually, but I'm sure many other vegans have the same pet peeve. Just like the grammer annoyances, we see it or hear it, and cringe. I'll say right away that VEGANISM is the most important thing but it doesn't mean that I can't have an annoyance about how people incorrectly use the word.

So lets get it straight. Veganism is an ethical connection and decision. To me, it's both an adjective and a verb. It can describe a person but it's an action. It describes an ethical decision. I was vegan the moment my husband said he was open to it. That was it for me. I knew it wasn't right to harm someone, without it being self-defence. Period. We used up the non-ethical food and beauty items we had but we were still vegan while we were consuming them because we stopped contributing to harm - rape, torture and murder of sentient beings. Beings with feelings.

This all means that there is no 'vegan diet' because the diet didn't decide to be vegan. There is a 'vegan-friendly diet', however. There are no 'vegan dogs' because the dog didn't wake up to ethics. He/she is a 'plant-based eater'. When people tell me that they want to hear about my 'vegan diet' because they have xyz health problem they don't want to hear about ethics. They want diet advice. I correct them in that it's a plant-based diet. Specifically, I am transitioning to fruitarian and eat a fruit-based diet. My diet isn't vegan. The fruit didn't decide not to harm others and if a person is using animal products but eating plants only then they aren't vegan. There is no 'almost vegan' just like there's no 'almost ethica' since vegan MEANS ethical. The term 'ethical vegan' is redundant since the words mean the same thing. You either made an ethical decision to do as little harm as possible or you aren't vegan and you became vegan as soon as you stopped harming or paying someone to do it for you.

The mis-use of the word vegan is just as annoying to me as the mis-use of the word seen. No, you did most certainly NOT seen it yesterday. Ha!

Monday, October 31, 2016

Yoga is a creativity. It's personal. To have others ask you to change it or criticize is unthinkable. When you see a sculpture you could say..."wow, I know that the piece came from your soul but you should have done it differently." OR you could say, "Wow, your soul shines through that piece."

When people ask me why I no longer teach yoga, that is why. My yoga style is moving meditation. Focusing on breath and spirit. It COMES FROM my soul. It's my soul guiding me. Most of the time my eyes were closed or partially, while I taught.

No, the area in which I live and used to teach isn't very meditation-friendly, or yoga or holistic health for that matter, or spiritual. OR, maybe it's that I haven't found those people. OR, who knows, maybe it's that people don't really get me or my style. Who knows. :-)

#LeadByExample and #AspireToInspire are two of my favourite hashtags. They also really follow the Law of Attraction theory as well. If you want people to repect you then you have to respect yourself. Model that to others. Of course, that doesn't mean people will like you, as a matter of fact, anyone who is used to disrepecting you will resent you for the change. Any change. People who admire you wil often be jealous of you, even for respecting yourself enough to not accept less from others. But still, lead by example and those who are in your life (or stay in your life after the change), those who matter, will be respectful of you.If you want your partner to pay attention to you then first pay attention to yourself with self-love and then to him/her. Model that. Self-love and giving love and that's what you will attract.If you want your kids to have a tidy room, with bed made, then have a tidy, clutter-free house with YOUR bed made and a clean vehicle. Focus on YOU. Lead by example and inspire others.If you want a loving, cruelty-free world then be a loving vegan who is joyful. If you are a negative, screaming, flesh-eaters are all evil type vegan then that's what will be in the world. What you focus on expands. We are all one, so start with YOU. Lead by example. Be an example of a truly loving life an aspire to inspire for a world filled with joyful, loving people.

Friday, October 28, 2016

I listened to a podcast today. A life-changing podcast. It was called, "How to Succeed When You Fail" (link will be found at the end) so I almost didn't listen to it since I don't believe there's such a thing as failure, unless you make no attempts at all. Or so I thought.Let me tell you what I was doing to myself.... I had a holistic health centre for about 2.5 years and it was such a joy. I had tons of new friends and people coming and going and using the centre. I did yoga (taught) a few times a week there so saw pregnant mammas and young babies and new moms and everyone in between. I rented the space out to a dance instructor and enroled my own dauhter and saw how busy and loved the place was by others as well.

Success for YOU is your OWN definition. Nobody else's.

BUT all that didn't bring in much income and when Summer hit I was down to NO income so decided to close the doors. I was devistated. And lost. That was about 3 years ago and I've still felt lost or like I was tredding water until only very recently.After listening to this podcast I came to some very interesting and attitude-altering realizations. I was nearly in tears and felt it hard to breathe on one hand but lighter on the other.I didn't believe in failure, right? Nope. I was wrong. Apparently, I believed it for everyone else, except myself. I would never tell anyone, adult or child that they failed. Especially my own child. I know how that feels and it doens't have a place in my lovely life. But, my goal for my precious centre was to make a living and keep it... forever, I guess. I don't really know where those goals came from. Considering I have construction husband, those goals are very unrealistic, and then there's the fact that the area where I live isn't very 'holistic friendly'. According to Kristanne, in her podcast, my first goal would be to forgive myself. So, I did. That's where the near-tears and extra effort to breathe came in ;-). Then, I reset my goals. More realistic goals... I made life-long friends, opening a holistic health centre was a dream and was accomplished for 2.5 wonderful years, I successfully inspired others with yoga and meditation, and it was an amazing experience and memory. Was it a success?? YES. Most definitely. It was too late to change the way I responded until right now so the next step was to re-evaluate the plan and take the best from the experience.The new plan..?? Continue to inspire others with blogging and be an example with my vegan and minimalist-minded lifestyle. To love my life, have balance, rescue animals, make my home not only a sanctuary to animals but also to my husband and daughter.Speaking of minimalism.. there's another way that I tend to beat myself up. I want my home to be, not really a show-house, that wouldn't be possible with 20 living beings inside (we have a sanctuary remember). But I want it close. Unrealistically close. I need to step back from that unrealistic goal and take it slower. Get inspired to do a little at a time. Today, my upstairs looks and smells amazing. Today, I added several things to the giveaway bag. I gathered some books that I used to sell with the plan to donate them to my daughter's teacher. A wonderful teacher who gave my daughter a pair of skates with nothing expected in return. A wonderful person who took the time to watch my daughter skate, for the first time, and encourage her. One step at a time. Today... definitely a SUCCESS. How to Succeed When You Fail - by Kristianne Wargo from Podcast #599 Create Your Now.https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Iy4msnw2tzin5h4xsb2655p32py

Friday, October 14, 2016

If one were to see my home he or she might not guess that I'm a minimalist, by most's standards. But, I see myself that way. Minimalism isn't someone else's view it's your own. I have a minimalist mindset about different aspects of minimalism. Such as, my rule of one in one or more out. But, not just posessions, also, effort. If it's not pretty cut and dry I don't bother. I know it's not right for me or not the right time. Even with my thoughts I have a minimalistic goal. I try to make time to meditate, daily. I think it all starts with a cluttered mind. I believe that is why we go looking for minimalism in the first place.And then there is diet. Diet is HUGE to me. I don't cook or generally eat cooked food. I am vegan but even for a vegan person it doesn't mean a minimalistic diet. I eat mostly fruit and it is definitely a minimalistic way to live. For me, anyway. Some go all out with a dehydrator and with elaborate recipes. Not me. That's where that effort thing comes into play. I don't want a ton of dishes, I don't want to deal with a ton of ingredients and I sure as hell don't want to have to measure anything. Too. Much. Effort.And then there are all the benefits of eating a fruit based diet... I never feel an overwhelming urge to brush my teeth. I do brush, of course, but I don't get that furry teeth/tongue feeling or worry about any strange smells. Fruit is sweet. Less effort required.And speaking of smells... less or no deordorant is needed and then there's the hair washing. Apparently, it is common for fruitarians to not use shampoo becuase we don't consume oil or much fat so our hair doesn't get as greasy. It's true! I wash my hair less and less often. It was once a week for about a year, it made the eczema I get flair up anyway, but since cutting out more and more things besides fruit the eczema is going away and I think it's been two weeks now since I washed my hair. So, now I have less moisurizers to buy, less shampoo to buy, no conditioner needed and less toothpaste since I am totally fine with just water. Less and less effort as time goes on but more energy, it's amazing!! Speaking of amazing... my mood has improved. I get upset and angry way less. So, less effort is needed, once again, in controling or supressing or feeling guilty. And what do I do with all my time with this new found energy, good mood and less effort needed? I spend it meditating, doing yoga and looking after our family, including all the animal family from our sanctuary. Life is about taking care of what and who you love and minimizing the rest of it, after all.

First & foremost a mom, wife, home manager and vegan. Kim is also the author of, "Prenatal Yoga: For Body, Mind and Spirit", a 500-hour certified yogi, certified meditation facilitator, barefoot/minimalist runner, reiki master and business owner.

Kim has been studying holistic health pretty much her whole life. Herbal classes and Therapeutic Touch led to her becoming a Reiki Master and acquiring a 500-hour certification in Yoga (Retired after 7 years of teaching) and then also a certification in meditation. Kim sells natural and spiritual products to aid in meditation and her artistic work.

She and her family became vegan March 2014 and she now offer assistance in getting started with a more compassionate and mindful way of living.

Her yoga eBook was published to Amazon Kindle in 2015.

Check out the wellness on her website, her creative works for sale and her inspiring blog posts..